Former India selector asks the BCCI to hold Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s India call-up

Venkatapathy Raju, former India spinner and selector, urges fans and the board to show patience before taking Suryavanshi in the India Team.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi stunned everyone during IPL 2025, playing as the youngest cricketer, 14, for the Rajasthan Royals (RR). He also became the youngest player to score a 100 in the IPL, making 101 off 38 balls vs Gujarat Titans (GT). RR broke the bank to purchase the youngest player for ₹1.10 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction. However, there were questions raised over the move. Now, former India selector Venkatapathy Raju has urged the BCCI to hold Suryavanshi’s India call-up.

Venkatapathy Raju urged BCCI and fans to wait before Suryavanshi is seen in Team India.

Venkatapathy Raju, a former India spinner and selector, speaking to a leading portal, feels that fans and the board will need to show some patience before Vaibhav Suryavanshi is seen in Indian clothing. He said, “Yes, yes, he will take a lot of time. He has to be one of those guys who needs to do well in the U-19 World Cups. He has to perform quite a bit in domestic cricket. Four-day games. And we can give time. See, talent-wise, we’ve already seen him, what he can do with a white ball, right?”

Raju downplays comparisons with Sachin Tendulkar.

The former BCCI selector for India’s 2007 World T20 squad downplayed comparisons with Tendulkar. He said, “It depends on the consistency, right? We’re a firm believer. We might talk about somebody like Sachin, right? First, Ranji Trophy debut, he got 100. Duleep Trophy, he got 100. Rest of India, he got 100, right? All three-day games. All four-day games. All five-day games. So, like that, I think when you know the talent, we should give him enough time to go and play, do well, and you feel that he’s really good enough and he can perform, why not? We can still bring him in.”

According to reports, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, born on March 27, 2011, in Bihar, started playing cricket at the age of four. He joined an academy at nine years old and, as a 12-year-old, played at the Vinoo Mankad Trophy for Bihar’s U-19 squad.